A few notes...Maven B.4 15X56 (1 Viewer)

I recently bought a Maven B.4 15X56. It's one of their demos. This is my first venture into the >12X binocular models. This is going to be short and sweet so take it for what it's worth. Between work(it's flu/cough/cold/etc season), SERIOUS birding, goofing off/birding, and 2 week time period to evaluate the B.4s there really isn't a lot of time to dig too deep.

My evaluating kinda centers around a few things; accessing the quality of the B.4, tripod binoculars vs tripod spotting scope, and is a 15X binocular feasible for hand-held use for me.

I'd like to say the B.4 looks a WHOLE lot like the Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 15X56 binocular. I even debated trying the Leupold instead of the Maven due to company longevity, lower price, included case, and included tripod adapter. I decided to go the Maven route due to the availability of demo binoculars, it's better looking IMO, and I like Maven products. The B.4 came with strap, lens covers, and typical Maven drawstring binocular bag.

A few facts/specs(all actual):

Weight- 50.2 ounces bare binocular. Maven list 48 ounces.
Length- 8.4 inches.
Eyecups- 4 position.
Diopter adjustment- under right eyecup.
Prism type- Abbe-Koenig.

Initial observations
Of course the first thing one notices is the B.4 is a very large and heavy binocular. You also notice the focus adjustment is just about perfect. The diopter adjustment requires a little too much effort to adjust. There also is notch of play here. Functional but certainly not the best I've seen on other Maven products. Hinge tension is a little on the loose side. IMO hinge tension would need to be a little on the tight side since this binocular sure is likely to be mounted for tripod use. I used a Snap-Zoom mount and had to be careful when strapping the B.4 down.

Use in the field
I tried both hand held AND tripod mounting with the B.4. MOST of the time it spent it's time on a Snap-Zoom tripod mount and a Manfrotto 190 tripod. I have to say the view threw the B.4 is for the most part excellent. The focus adjustment is super. The eye-relief is I'd say is certainly at least adequate with eyeglass use. I used the B.4 in areas where I'd normally use a spotting scope. So this means viewing mostly gulls, shore birds, and waders. Within its range birding ID was easy and user friendly. It wouldn't hurt to have a little more eye relief while tripod mounted. Keep in mind that more that likely only one binocular in this group has more ER and that's the Swarovski SLC 15X56. I though color reproduction was excellent. There really wasn't a whole lot of difference between the B.4 and the SV 8.5 I had with me. I would like to also mention that this B.4 has a VERY flat FOV. Much more flat that I expected. Overall VERY pleased with the B.4 optically.

I also compared the B.4 to my Leupold GR HD 12-40X60 spotting scope. I picked this scope since it was the closest to a 15X56. I set it to approx 15X so I'd have a 15X60 spotting scope. This spotting scope is excellent. The binocular image was better with the B.4 no doubt. Much more enveloping image. Much better to just "watch" yellow-legs(both kinds) and killdeer do their thing. Watching birds and scanning the flats was effortless and no eyestrain whatsoever. Easy on the eyes. SO easy to focus. Yet for 15X bird ID comparison, not much difference between the binocular and the scope. The Leupold scope has a PLETHORA of ER that maes it VERY user friendly. PLUS it has the added benefit of being able to crank up to 40X. THAT the Maven can not do.

I tried the Maven in hand-held mode best I could. I strapped on the SV 8.5 and the B.4. I don't see how folks do it. For a while I could manage a pretty steady image. It sure didn't take long to get a little wobbly. At the end of a pretty good hike I have to say I really couldn't do much with the 15X. I don't bird sitting down so I didn't try that. I'm sure I could come up with a manner of holding them steady while resting my elbows on my knees. Freehanded I simply could not. I CAN hold the SV 12X50s very good. But not these.

So for now...I'm on the fence about these binoculars. Optically they are very nice so I can't fault the optics. It would be GREAT to have another 15X model to compare. They will do everything a 15X spotting scope will do while mounted on a tripod. But they will NOT do everything a 12-40X60 spotting scope will do much less a 30-70X95 spotting scope. I'm not so sure I can augment a 7 or 8X binocular with these because I can't hold them steady enough. I don't have a final verdict YET but it seems to me that if you have to take a binocular paired with a tripod, you just might as well take a spotting scope with a tripod.

I see Maven is bringing out an 18x56 binocular pretty soon too. Bigger than the 15x56 from the photos, different frame looks like too. I see where you are with the binocular vs spotting scope comparison. On one hand you get full use of both eyes with the binocular. On the other hand you have increased magnification in a Spotter. But you need a pretty good spotter at higher magnifications, and I am not a real fan of any spotter image when the EP falls below 2.0, nor do I like the decreasing depth of field we get with high magnification. At this point each still in many ways compliments the other.

I may have to expand efforts to get my hands on one of these, however I'm really most interested in the 10x56.

Nice write up.

Thank you, Chuck, interesting read!!
Canip

Great write up Chuck as usual. I had the same experience trying to use Conquest HD 15x56 hand held too. I was OK for a few minutes but then the wobbles set in and when carrying two binos, trying to use the 15x after scrambling up hills or over rocks - forget it. We do sit down to observe bird and animal behaviour and yes I could get a steady image using elbows on knees, but inevitably I needed to swap to other binos for a wider fov and stuff would pop up further away than 15x could reach.

However back at our holiday cottages, the Conquest on a tripod was a delight to use, scanning over the coast and sea and sky. Yes birds and seals and otters popped up that were further away and demanded swapping to a scope but having a regular 8x bino, plus the Conquest on the tripod and a scope to hand, was a neat way to observe. Most of the time the Conquest could do the business but probably this was partly because we are familiar with most of the birds off the west of Scotland now so reaching for the scope wasn't necessary very often and using both eyes to keep a watch was very enjoyable.

Lee

The best (actually the only really appropriate seeming) use I’ve seen for 15x bins as a birder is with a finnstick from a mid sized (80m) boat. A tripod can be a bit unwieldy and the image moves too much with the boat but the finnstick mounted 15x can provide a better view than the scope unless you’re on a very large ship and/or very flat seas, when the scope becomes truly useful. I still don’t see it as a useful addition for me...

Canon 15x50 IS is a very nice and useful binocular.
B.

Great review

The 15x will never have the magnification of a spotting scope

But the two eyed viewing is easily worth the sacrifice in extra magnification

Have you tried a monopod?

Good to know that the mavens have a flat FOV

Thanks for the pics and review Chuck. The listed eye relief from Maven is 18mm, I take it that number is slightly exaggerated based on your observations. The diopter movement is a bit of a disappointment, sample variation again perhaps? On the plus side it is about half the price of the SLC.

Andy W.

Steve C said:

Nice write up.

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Thanks Steve!

Canip said:

Thank you, Chuck, interesting read!!
Canip

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Thanks Canip!

Troubador said:

Great write up Chuck as usual. I had the same experience trying to use Conquest HD 15x56 hand held too. I was OK for a few minutes but then the wobbles set in and when carrying two binos, trying to use the 15x after scrambling up hills or over rocks - forget it. We do sit down to observe bird and animal behaviour and yes I could get a steady image using elbows on knees, but inevitably I needed to swap to other binos for a wider fov and stuff would pop up further away than 15x could reach.

However back at our holiday cottages, the Conquest on a tripod was a delight to use, scanning over the coast and sea and sky. Yes birds and seals and otters popped up that were further away and demanded swapping to a scope but having a regular 8x bino, plus the Conquest on the tripod and a scope to hand, was a neat way to observe. Most of the time the Conquest could do the business but probably this was partly because we are familiar with most of the birds off the west of Scotland now so reaching for the scope wasn't necessary very often and using both eyes to keep a watch was very enjoyable.

Lee

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Thanks Lee! I can see them as being useful for kind of a permanent placement to watch feeders and such....maybe looking over a back pasture to watch deer, etc.

Binastro said:

Canon 15x50 IS is a very nice and useful binocular.
B.

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What about ER though...

Dd61999 said:

Great review

The 15x will never have the magnification of a spotting scope

But the two eyed viewing is easily worth the sacrifice in extra magnification

Have you tried a monopod?

Good to know that the mavens have a flat FOV

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Thanks! I DO have monopod that I rarely use. I might give a try!

dries1 said:

Thanks for the pics and review Chuck. The listed eye relief from Maven is 18mm, I take it that number is slightly exaggerated based on your observations. The diopter movement is a bit of a disappointment, sample variation again perhaps? On the plus side it is about half the price of the SLC.

Andy W.

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You are welcome Andy. The ER is probably close to what's listed. I had no issues with ER using them without a tripod. It was just while mounted on the tripod I would have like to have had a little more. I think I may have scratched the 15X itch without purchasing an SLC.

Chuck, in general how does the flat view compare with your other flat field glass, for instance when panning a view >50 yards?

Andy W.

dries1 said:

Chuck, in general how does the flat view compare with your other flat field glass, for instance when panning a view >50 yards?

Andy W.

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Comparing what I have....a little bit apples to oranges....I'd say it's about as flat as it gets without implementing "flat field" optics.

Thanks for taking the time, Chuck.

This is interesting, I love my 15s, and their utility is obvious to me. However, I have never owned (and only once used) a spotting scope so I came at this with totally different experiences. This makes me all the more interested in spotting scopes though. Maybe later in the year I will get one. I'll be hassling all of you on the Tripod/Spotting Scope board when I am ready.

I REALLY appreciate your photos. Not just on this, but all over this forum. I have a folder of your photos that I look through pretty regularly when I am researching binoculars. Thank you very much for taking the time.

quincy88 said:

Thanks for taking the time, Chuck.

This is interesting, I love my 15s, and their utility is obvious to me. However, I have never owned (and only once used) a spotting scope so I came at this with totally different experiences. This makes me all the more interested in spotting scopes though. Maybe later in the year I will get one. I'll be hassling all of you on the Tripod/Spotting Scope board when I am ready.

I REALLY appreciate your photos. Not just on this, but all over this forum. I have a folder of your photos that I look through pretty regularly when I am researching binoculars. Thank you very much for taking the time.

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Thanks Quincy! I appreciate that!

chill6x6 said:

!

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Have you tried a monopod on these yet?

Dd61999 said:

Have you tried a monopod on these yet?

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I didn't get a chance to. I had to send the binocular back within the 14 day demo period.

Thanks for the very interesting report. I have long been thinking of trying the 15x56 format. Naturally, I greedily want the SLC HD but this seems to be such a heavy oddball niche sized format that I am afraid to buy that deeply without any real life experience.

Does anyone have the ability to comment or help me speculate on how the Maven B4 compares to the Meopta MeoStar HD in 15x56? I don't really mean the online specs which I can look up myself and may not be strictly true anyway. I am thinking of things like pure clarity, resolution, field correction, build quality, and glare control.

Thanks

** I almost get the impression based on various internet mentions that the 12x50 MeoStar HD is considered the real gem of the line up. Is there any real reason for this other than a larger field and less shake?

Personally, I would have GONE with a Meopta except for eye relief. I don't think you could wrong there.